Boats are conventionally anchored by use of an anchor that is tied to one end of a line, such as a rope, cord or cable. The anchor is dropped into a water body from the boat, and the line is allowed to reel out from the boat until the anchor contacts the bottom of the water body or a solid structure on the bottom of the water body. The line is then secured to the boat, typically by tying the line to a base cleat mounted on the bow of the boat, in order to fix the length of the anchor line. As long as the anchor remains fixed at one location on the bottom of the water body, the boat will be secured in the vicinity of the anchor. Wind and currents may tend to move the boat back and forth or into a general location above the anchor, but the degree of movement of the boat will be limited by the length of the anchor line relative to the depth of the water above the anchor. For example, a twelve foot anchor line in ten feet of water will allow for very little movement of the boat, while a thirty foot anchor line in ten feet of water will allow the boat to drift away from the anchor and to swing in a relatively large arc around the anchor.
One problem encountered in setting anchors in the foregoing manner is that once the anchor is set, it may soon be discovered that it is desirable to increase or decrease the length of the anchor line. This problem is encountered particularly in recreational fishing, where an angler often wants to secure his or her boat at a precise location. After the anchor has been set and the angler has begun fishing, the angler frequently discovers that the boat is too close to or too far from the angler's desired location. Even an adjustment of five or ten feet in the location of the boat might significantly increase the angler's success and enjoyment. In order to adjust the length of the anchor line, it is necessary for the angler to put down his or her fishing rod, walk to the point of the boat where the anchor line is tied (typically the bow), untie the anchor line, take in or let out line, tie the line back to the cleat, and then walk back to the fishing rod to resume fishing. During this process, the angler may lose his or her perspective and orientation, and thus find it difficult to reposition the boat at the desired location. The process of resetting the anchor line detracts from the enjoyment of fishing, and may be disturbing to the fish in the vicinity of the boat, resulting in smaller catches of fish.
The inventor has discovered that the foregoing problems can be overcome by the use of modified jamming cleats. Jamming cleats, a.k.a. clam cleats or V-cleats, are well known, and are widely used on sail boats, where it is necessary to frequently adjust the length of lines that are attached to the sails. Jamming cleats employ a substantially V-shaped jamming groove formed between opposing walls, the jamming groove being configured to retain a sail rope. When a sail line is pulled through the jamming groove at an appropriate angle, the line becomes wedged at a depth in the V-shaped jamming groove that is sufficient to prevent the rope from sliding through the cleat, thus securing the rope. The sides of the jamming groove are typically provided with ridges that enhance gripping of the rope. Jamming cleats are particularly useful in situations where it is necessary to frequently adjust a sail rope, because the rope can be readily released from the clamp by simply pulling the rope upward from the jamming groove. The releasing properties of jamming cleats are utilized in U.S. Pat. No. 3,812,811 (B. Rodriguez), which discloses a pivotally mounted rope jamming cleat for sailboats having a pressure retarding action to the pivotal movement of the cleat and a releasing action at the full movement of the cleat to release the rope. When a strong wind is encountered, the cleat releases the sail rope automatically, preventing the possibility of capsizing the boat.
The present invention relates to a particular form of jamming cleat that, for lack of a commonly used term, can be called a "one-way" jamming cleat. One way jamming cleats have a remarkable ability to grip and hold a line that is pulled in one direction through the clamp (hereinafter the jamming direction) and to readily release the line when the line is pulled in the opposite direction (hereinafter the release direction). These functions are achieved by slanting the ridges in the jamming groove so that when a line is pulled through the jamming groove in the jamming direction, the line is guided downward in the V-shaped jamming groove until the line becomes jammed. When the line is pulled in the release direction, the slanted ridges guide the line upward to thereby release the line from the jamming groove. Preferred configurations and characteristics of one-way jamming cleats are described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 3,574,900 (R. J. Emery) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,361,938 (H. Emery).
As far as the inventor is aware, no attempts have previously been made to use jamming cleats to secure anchor lines. The inventor, who is a recreational fisherman, has discovered that while prior art one-way jamming cleats are effective in securing anchor lines, they suffer from the same drawbacks as other forms of anchor cleats. In particular, an angler or boat operator must walk to the jamming cleat in order to adjust the anchor line, and particularly to replace the line in the jamming groove. The inventor has discovered that if the anchor cleat is mounted on the bow of the boat, an angler standing midship or at the stern of the boat can remove the anchor line from the jamming cleat by lifting up on the rope. However, once the line is removed from the groove, various factors, such as wind, movement of the boat, pulling by the angler on the line, and movement of the angler, cause the line to veer away from the jamming cleat. Veer occurs almost invariably unless the angler is standing close to the jamming cleat. Once the anchor line has veered from the jamming groove, it is difficult to replace the line in the jamming groove, and it is usually necessary to walk to the jamming cleat in order to do so.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,574,900 (R. J. Emery) shows a jamming cleat having a bridge 51a extending between the opposing walls of the jamming groove (See Column 3, lines 10-30, and FIGS. 5-10). The bridge 51a is positioned between the jamming ends of the walls. While the bridge 51a shown in R. J. Emery would serve to secure a line in the groove, it could not be used in a practical manner for adjusting anchor lines. The bridge 51a of R. J. Emery is solid, which would pose great difficulties if the R. J. Emery device were used with anchor lines. When an anchor is pulled out of the water after use, the anchor must be placed on the boat for storage. The bridge 51a of R. J. Emery would prevent the anchor from being removed easily for storage. The anchor could be drawn up to the bridge 51a, but no further. If stored in this position, the anchor could easily become caught on objects outside of the boat or could injure individuals on the boat. The only way to remedy this problem would be to either untie the anchor or pass the non-anchor end of the rope back through the opening formed by the bridge 51a. Neither of these solutions would be acceptable to recreational fishermen, who frequently store their anchor below deck when moving the boat, and who may use poles or rig hooks to tie off in lieu of an anchor.
Another important disadvantage of R. J. Emery with regard to anchor lines is that the bridge 51a is directly adjacent the jamming end of the jamming cleat. This configuration may work well on sail boats, but it will not work well for adjusting anchor lines. In this configuration, the bridge 51a impinges on the upward motion of the rope as soon as the rope is lifted upwards from the jamming groove. The bridge 51a imposes a pivot point directly adjacent the jamming end of the jamming cleat, and it is therefore necessary to lift the rope at a relatively steep angle in order to remove the rope from the jamming groove. In order to achieve this steep inclination, an individual must stand close to the jamming cleat; if the individual stands away from the jamming cleat, he or she will be unable to lift his or her hand high enough to successfully lift the rope from the jamming groove.
A further disadvantage of the bridge 51a embodiment of R. J. Emery when used for setting anchor lines is that the location of the bridge 51a reduces control over the anchor line adjustment process. If used with anchor lines, the steep inclination required by the bridge 51a embodiment of R. J. Emery would prevent controlled manual manipulation of the anchor line, and would result in frequent inadvertent settings of the anchor line at undesirable lengths. When setting an anchor line, tension remains in the line essentially at all times due to the weight of the anchor, currents, drift of the boat, etc. As soon as the line contacts the jamming groove, the tension in the anchor line tends to slide the anchor line in the jamming direction, thereby setting the line in the jamming groove almost instantaneously. Accordingly, the anchor line must be maintained outside of the jamming groove during setting of the anchor line. Because the bridge 51a of R. J. Emery is directly adjacent the jamming end of the jamming cleat, the bridge forces the line into the jamming end of the jamming groove as soon as the line is dropped or lowered toward the jamming groove, resulting in a sudden jamming of the line. Little manual manipulation and control of the anchor line is possible, which reduces the likelihood of setting the anchor line at a desired location.
There is thus a need for an anchor cleat that overcomes the foregoing failings and shortcomings of the prior art by allowing an angler or boater to readily adjust an anchor line while standing at virtually any location on a boat.